Top 10 Best Egg Producing Chicken Breeds

would have been a 5 but i don't want to eliminate
" there's always room for improvement"
My 3 Easter Eggers are amazing, 3 Ex Large Eggs every day and 1/2

I agree with reviewers that this is a good list but doesn't cover production over time. I had a buff opington hen that was laying an egg a day for 9-10 months out of the year (with the exception of molting time) for 8 years, right up until the last two months of her life. She was the best friendly, docile hen that produced eggs and hatched a number of broods. Sad to see that her breed is not on this list of the best.

This article is perfect for BYC keepers who want to keep their chickens for a certain time like the commercial farmers do. Max egg production comes with a price (poor chicken health).

The numbers given are what you can expect from 6 - 18 months. After that the numbers decline. And it has nothing to do with the number of eggs a chicken lays in total (life span). Some breeds lay not abundant, but keep producing eggs for a very long time. I have 2 seniors of 9 years old that stil lay approx 3 eggs every week in spring and summer (if not broody).

Nice list and good information. Regarding Easter Eggers, in my experience they go broody very frequently though.

I would caution anyone using this guide to also check out their hatchery's website. I found when I compared this list of the number of eggs produced by each breed to what the hatchery my local farm stores supply from, there was quite a discrepancy in many of the breeds' egg numbers.

The article is informative and I believe from my experience of keeping backyard flocks for 30 years pretty accurate. I will say that folx should be aware that when they keep the incredibly high layers they are doing so at a cost. Those who produce 280 and more deplete their bodies quickly and end up with illnesses that not only stop them from laying but can cause ongoing health issues. I had a Golden Comet (two actually) one died at 4 and the other stopped laying after 2.5 straight years of egg production only to (literally) limp along for another four years of weak health. She was a lovely chicken but compared to my easter eggers and rocks and Wellsummers not very robust.

Good review. Would question a few choices on best and I'm very curious as to how some of this was calculated.
I notice you include Australorps but not the older breed they were derived from Orpingtons. Yet I have found the Orps have laid as many eggs and sometimes more. A chart on this would be very useful as well as how you've factored in other contributing characteristics such as lifespan and climate sensitivity. I found my Barred rocks produced longer than most breeds making them more valuable long term but slightly less productive than my Arps or Orps in the short term.

I enjoyed reading this article. I have two Easter Eggers that are 7 months old and I have been getting eggs since they were 5 months old. I average 2 a day.

I woul f like to n know whether my golden Comet chicken rank because I have 10 of them and pretty much every day we get 9 eggs an d some days we get 10 eggs snf these chickens are very docile.
Thank you
Karen Barton

Nice article, but what it doesn't address is how long these breeds live. We found that every one of our sex linked died around 2 years. Just dropped dead. We had several die within a short period, and I had a necropsy done on one. She was all tumor. I think these breeds are just breed to be "culled" at 18 months, no consideration is given to their health so they have genetic disposition to get tumors and cancers. I don't cull my chickens and all the other breeds live a long time.

It is a very informative article and as an old fart getting ready to start shopping for his flock ,I need all the help I can get. Thank you for having such a good site

Very informative read! I’ve bookmarked it so that when I’m ready to adopt, I’ll know the specs.

Unfortunately people think the barred Plymouth Rocks are a single breed. Recognized varieties include Barred, White, Buff, Silver, Penciled, Partridge, Columbian, Blue, and Black - but not all varieties are the best egg layers or meat birds. The Plymouth Rock is one of the oldest breeds of American chickens with the Barred and White Plymouth Rocks the two oldest varieties and both considered great egg layers and also true dual purpose birds as meat birds. I raise White Plymouth Rock and experience 6 eggs per week throughout the year with a slight production drop to 5-6 eggs per week during the deepest month of winter. I cull at 2.5 years because Plymouth Rocks are slow molters, shedding feathers over a 4-5 month period slowing egg laying way down or even stopped for that time. I raise White Plymouth Rocks for the pullets to cross with my meat strain New Hampshire Roo to produce Golden Comets, the cross Hubbard Farms made famous as trademarked production egg laying machines . They lay 7 eggs per week are small 4.5# birds, easy keepers, free range well and are economical to raise as not big eaters. Traits that not all red sex link birds possess.

So helpful to someone new to chickens. I have not purchased chicks yet. Now I know what to look for.

Well written, helpful to new chicken owners.

I don’t think the picture for the Plymouth Rock is an actual Plymouth Rock… it looks more like a Silver Penciled chicken…

Traditional Plymouth Rocks, from what I understand, look more like this:



Great article, nonetheless!

Very informative article for those who want plenty of eggs feom their flock.

Good information!

Very helpful and informative article.
Each breed is given great description and this will certainly come in handy for those looking to increase their egg income.

Well done!